Frame And Display A Love Letter

The problem with love letters is that they get tucked into a box only to be read once every few years. Why not pull them out and put them on display where they can be enjoyed all the time?

My brother-in-law started a tradition where he writes a love letter (I’m not sure if he calls it that) to his kids on their birthday. He shares stories from the year, personality traits they developed that year, and whatever else he wants to write about. He writes their name and which birthday it is and seals it up. He stores it in a safe and on his kids’ 18th birthday, they will receive 18 letters, one from each birthday over the past 18 years. It will be like a diary of their life through the eyes of their dad.

I just loved that idea and got his permission to copy it 🙂

Early one morning, before anyone else was awake, I was writing my daughter’s birthday letter. Writing these letters is always fun because it’s a few precious minutes to just reflect on that person and on the year we shared. I think its easy to get so caught up in the day to day of tending to our kids physically and emotionally that we really don’t get the chance to just completely focus on their strengths in a gushing, lovey-dovey kind of way.

As I was finishing up my letter, my daughter came downstairs. I remember feeling more in love with her than ever. It’s amazing what a little focus on a person’s good qualities can do for your state of mind and the relationship.

That got me thinking…This might be a good exercise to do with all of the people in our lives, especially the difficult ones. Having trouble with a coworker, boss, or feisty child? Try writing them a love letter in the morning forcing yourself to list all of their good qualities, and only their good qualities. This isn’t easy, but you might just notice a big shift in your relationship.

Anyway, about my project. 🙂

My daughter’s walls were bare and needing some lovin’ and I decided to frame a love letter to her and display it on the wall for her to read and enjoy. Now this would be a much better idea if she could actually read, but I overlook details sometimes!

To begin, I wrote a letter and typed it out on the computer. I decided to highlight the character traits of my daughter in pink so those stood out from the text.

Next, I took an old brown picture frame and painted it white. I wanted to paint the inner section of the frame silver but went with hot pink at the last minute. Once that dried, I put the letter into the frame and hung it in the center of the room.

I scrounged around the garage and found some other random frames I had (most didn’t have glass) and just painted them silver, white, pink and one copper. I arranged the frames around the letter to create a wall collage.

And that was it.

Now her walls, and hopefully her heart, are full.

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